Boy George has responded to criticism over what some saw as ‘mocking bisexuals’ in a Tweet referring to George Michael‘s death, and alleged suicide.
The icon George Michael was found dead at his home last week, aged just 53. While a post-mortem into his death was found to be inconclusive, Tweets were later sent from the Twitter account of his partner Fadi Fawaz alleging that he had killed himself.
“Not sure who that nasty close friend of George (sic) but I was in a relationship with George Michael till I found him dead in bed,” read the Tweets. “The only thing George wanted is to DIE. He tried numbers of times to kill himself many times and finally he managed.
“We loved each other very much and were together almost 24 hours a day.”
Fawaz later told The Mirror that he was ‘shocked’ by the Tweets and believed that his Twitter has been hacked. Then, in a since-deleted Tweet that many believe refers to the incident, Boy George posted: “Ok. ‘My computer got hacked’ is like ‘I’m bisexual’ or ‘I’m sniffing because I have allergies!”
Some were offended by the Tweet:
https://twitter.com/_wadeywiIson/status/815897291873779712
but it read as "bisexuality is a joke" ….
— emily🐜 (@princxss_em) January 2, 2017
but actual bisexuals were upset by your words. We have enough trouble getting the world to acknowledge our existence already.
— Super Elizabeth Bathory (@kshandra) January 2, 2017
Boy George then responded, denying that he was ‘bi-phobic’:
My tweet was not directed at you? How big is your ego right now? Lot's of people use 'bisexual' when they really mean 'gay. https://t.co/zWfS3PMe86
— Boy George (@BoyGeorge) January 2, 2017
Bi-phobic? Yeah, of course. Suck my bigot toe! 🙂
— Boy George (@BoyGeorge) January 2, 2017
I love a bisexual. I ride a bicycle! https://t.co/9qXDSSmYcO
— Boy George (@BoyGeorge) January 2, 2017
In his initial tribute to George Michael, Boy George wrote: “I am thinking of George Michael’s family, friends and fans right now. He was so loved and I hope he knew it because the sadness today is beyond words. Devastating. What a beautiful voice he had and his music will live on as a testament to his talent. I can’t believe he is gone. I hope the Buddha will hold him in his arms. NMRK.”
- Read more: RIP George Michael – the NME obituary
It has been reported that George Michael had ‘three unreleased albums in the vaults‘ and that he was planning to release a new record in 2017.
